Emirati Artist Sarah bin Hendi’s fascinating painting exhibition ‘Colours of My Life’ at FN Designs promises to take viewers on a walk around a garden full of flowers. Opening for public on 2nd May 2018, the two-day exhibition is the young artist’s first solo show in Dubai and absolutely spectacular in every aspect. Featuring 23 paintings themed on ‘Modern Abstraction combined with Pop Art’, the collection is a kaleidoscope of colours.
Commenting on the intoxicating mix of colours, Sarah, said: “In my exhibition I want to show the viewers how color can affect their mind and soul, so they would live and feel a different and unique experience when they see my paintings. The purpose is to activate and motivate their imagination while examining each painting. More specifically, I want them to feel how each different combination of colors and brush strokes can attract their attention and make them feel the colors rather than just see them. I believe that colors have a tremendous effect on our lives.”
Sarah’s works are a psychedelic mix of different shapes and sizes. Elaborating on her style she said, “I hope I can introduce a new method on how to not just see artworks but feel the energy instead. In my paintings I always put and place the different shapes in a certain way, sometimes they’re connected or aligned and at other times they’re just flowing freely in the painting interacting with my color mixtures and brush strokes.”
Sensorially rich and immersive, each painting in Sarah’s collection has a story to tell. She stressed, ” the different organic shapes and flowers in my paintings have their own meanings and stories in my works, but in my exhibition, I want the visitors and viewers to make their own stories and interpretations based on what they see and feel, so everyone would interact differently with each painting of mine.
There is a lot to see and buy at the exhibition. Despite a common theme, each painting is unique with a drastic difference in scale of density. While some are simple others are complicated constructs of colour and pattern. Flowers are the centerpiece in many. Talking about the inspiration behind her beautiful works, Sahar revealed, “I got my inspiration from the different experiences I went through in my life, and the interactions I had with some people who touched my heart and soul in a very deep way emotionally and artistically. So, I would say my art is the result of these emotional experiences combined with my imagination and personal interpretation of these interactions. Colors, flowers and a variety of organic shapes are main elements in my paintings. They symbolize various meanings and feelings to me. Flowers are the most dominant elements in my artworks, because I consider them as the strongest symbols of emotions and I always associate them with people.”
Sarah is a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The American University in Dubai. In 2005 Sarah won a competition for Horse Design (Sheikh Mohammad’s Sponsorship of Dubai’s Celebration of the Arabian Horse). In the same year she also participated in a Post-It Note competition ‘3M Post-It Competition’ whereby her work was selected for an exhibition in Burjuman.
Gallery Location: FN Designs, Alserkal Avenue, Unit #26, Al Quoz 1, Street 8, Dubai, UAE FN Designs Timings: 10 am to 6pm from Sunday to Thursday
For media contact: Hina Bakht Managing Director EVOPS Marketing & PR Mob: 00971 50 6975146 Tel: 00971 4 566 7355 Hina.bakht@evops-pr.com www.evops-pr.com
The hotly anticipated winners of this year’s awards were announced at a photo-call on the show floor on Tuesday 24th April.
Launched in 2015, the Best Stand Awards were created to recognise the design creativity and business-friendly appeal of exhibiting companies’ physical presence at ATM.
The judging panel comprised a line-up of top industry and design professionals: Leo Fewtrell, Managing Partner, Gulf Reps; Nicholas Hall, CEO & Founder, SE1 Media; Pippa Jacks, Group Editor, TTG Media Ltd and Matt Gibson, Travel Blogger, Writer and Photographer.
Commenting on Dubai Tourism’s winning stand, Matt Gibson, said: “It was an exceptionally good business stand with an effective and efficient set-up. One of the few stands to boast a triple-decker layout, Dubai Tourism attracted huge numbers of visitors throughout the event. Everyone working on the stand was incredibly welcoming and hospitable and the whole approach and attitude really captured the ideas of Dubai and what it has to offer as an emirate.”
The judging criteria for the Best Stand Design award focused on identifying an eye-catching stand with a creative design that made the best use of available space and attracted a high level of visitor traffic.
And Lebanon’s stand ticked all the boxes. Pippa Jacks, said: “I was very impressed, the stand really stood out and presented a welcoming and homely feature. The stand featured a huge front door, with staircase which led to a well-laid out meeting space. It was a subtle, yet intelligent, way to showcase the country.”
The Czech Republic was recognised as Highly Commended in the Best Stand Design category.
Jacks, said: The stand boasted a large triangle in the middle of the stand with an interactive LED screen on one corner and creative posters of the country on the others. Both the stand and staff created a very welcoming experience, with lots of open meeting space.”
The award for Best Stand Personnel is an especially important accolade considering hospitality is a people business.
“The staff for SAUDIA were excellent,” said Leo Fewtrell. “From the executive team and welcome hosts to pilots and airline staff, they were all a great representation of the brand and although the stand was very busy, they were welcoming, highly professional and very keen to demonstrate all amenities from first class through to economy.”
The Best Stand Feature accolade was awarded to the stand that created the biggest impact and most creative ways of drawing in visitors, and they didn’t come more eye-catching than Turkey.
Jacks said: “Not only did the Turkey stand have a great atmosphere surrounding it but it also featured lots of little interesting elements from urban marbling and a huge trojan statue to an ice cream stall and to round it off a group of traditional musicians, singers and dancers.”
The Best Stand within the Travel Tech Show at ATM specifically highlights the importance of technology to the industry.
Nicholas Hall said: “Travelport have done a great job with their stand and what I really liked was the creative way they used their space. The best feature for me was the five different coloured printers on the wall which automatically printed out photos tweeted by visitors to the stand. As well as meeting and workshop space, the stand also featured various charging stations.”
Babylon was recognised as Best Tech Highly Commended. Commenting on the stand, Hall said: “Judging on all factors, you see many types of stands at ATM, but to create something so minimal yet engaging and thought-provoking, while perfectly capturing what they do, is a huge achievement.”
The winners will be put to the public vote on the ATM Facebook account, for the chance of walking away with the People’s Choice Award.
Simon Press, Senior Exhibition Director, Arabian Travel Market, said: “The fresh, innovative stand designs and concepts never cease to amaze and this year was no exception. These awards recognise the huge effort, investment and thought that go into creating and manning quality exhibitor space.”
